Sheik Hussein (Islamic Pilgrimage)

13 centuries ago, a Muslim Sheikh from the Hadramut (a district on the south coast of Arabia,
bounded west by Yemen, eat by Oman and North by the
Dahna desert), is believed to have landed on the Indian
Ocean shoreline and followed the great river, the Wabi
Shebelle, from its mouth to its headwaters. Here he
settled and preached Islam and performed many miracles.
He died in the Bale Mountains. His tomb became a shrine,
and the shrine became a village named Sheik Hussein
after his death. Sheikh Hussein's tomb is in a large
white sepulcher topped by a red-blue dome. The scene at
the sepulcher is dramatic & so religious: pilgrims kiss
the walls of the tomb, crying, prostrating themselves
and unburdening themselves of their problems. The
experience is entirely cathartic. It has continued to be
the destination of approximately 50,000 pilgrims twice a
year during the Muslim months of Hajj and Rabi` al-Awwal.
Most Pilgrimages come from Ethiopia's remote villages
after an arduous journey to pray at the shrine of Sheikh
Hussein. Some will travel by donkey or mule, but most
will walk on barefoot - for up to 6 weeks or more to
reach this sacred place. During 700 years, since the
Sheikh's death, the pilgrimages have evolved into a
mixture of Saint Cult and ancient ritual. By tradition,
the departure of the pilgrims from their remote villages
is governed by the waxing and waning of the moon.